The Diocese of DS(21)07 Southwark

DICOESAN SYNOD

RACIAL JUSTICE, BLM & SOUTHWARK ANTI RACISM CHARTER

The Ven , the Archdeacon of Croydon, to move that: “this Synod wholeheartedly endorse the Diocese of Southwark Anti-Racism Charter and it’s adoption throughout the Diocese.”

1. As a Diocese, we are very aware of the way in which the concerns of Black Lives Matter touches every aspect of church life, our leadership and governance and our buildings and their history. We believe that the local and national church should play a leading role in changing our structures to ensure they value and represent people of all ethnicities and backgrounds. Our Diocesan Vision and the five marks of mission are rooted in not only proclamation and teaching but also in seeking to transform unjust structures in the world and in the church. We acknowledge that whatever is done must have real outcomes with positive and intentional action to redress the imbalances. 2. After the publication of the 2000 report on institutional racism in the structures of the Diocese of Southwark, we committed ourselves to implementing the report findings and work to address racism and justice. We have done so through education and training, and through our diocesan management oversight structures such as the Diocesan Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns Committee (DMEACC) and the local action focus of the Episcopal Area Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (MEAC) committees. This work continues but there needs to be renewed urgency to our actions amid rising concern about insufficient progress towards racial justice, equality and inclusion in our organisation. 3. BLM has catalysed society, and the wider church in this country, to confront the sinful reality of persistent racism and to intensify the long overdue work to bring about racial justice and reconciliation. 4. As a diocese we recommit ourselves to this transforming work to become an anti-racist organisation. We do this by embedding key principles in our diocesan strategic response to issues of racism, racial inequality and racial injustice and indifference. The Diocese is committed to challenging racism in our church and the wider society, recognises the need to create a more diverse church and is fully committed:

• To learn more about the way past and present church collusion in institutional racism and ethno-cultural differentiation continues to impact on United Kingdom Minority Ethnic (UKME - we no longer use the BAME acronym) community members participation in the church. This will include relevant work on the history and contributions of diverse people to our church as well as the history of our buildings and memorials.

• To create safe and trusting spaces to have honest and open conversations about race and racism, racial inequality, power and privilege, and actively listen to the voices of those impacted and affected by the issues, from UKME and white communities

• To provide training and mentoring and opportunities for leadership development for people from diverse heritages.

• To work to close any gaps that exist between UKME and white experiences of engagement with the diocese

• To engage our parishes and equip them to constructively engage with the Charter and the practical change it hopes to bring about.

• To collaborate with our training institutions and schools on issues of diversity and inclusion 5. This focus on anti-racism and concomitant strategies for enhancing Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion fit within our Diocesan Vision of ensuring the fruitful future of a church for all which reflects our diverse community in membership and leadership as we seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation. We acknowledge that whatever is done must have real outcomes with positive and intentional action to redress inequities. 6. This Charter allows us to put our own house in order as we work alongside others in civil society and government institutions to make the necessary changes in our society. 7. The Charter was discussed at the Diocesan Council of Trustees who overwhelmingly endorsed its recommendation to the Diocesan Synod. Synod members will be given a presentation alongside this paper and accompanying Charter. The Ven Rosemarie Mallett, the Archdeacon of Croydon, to move that: “this Synod wholeheartedly endorse the Diocese of Southwark Anti-Racism Charter and it’s adoption throughout the Diocese.”

The Ven Dr Rosemarie Mallett Archdeacon of Croydon March 2021 The Diocese of Southwark Anti-Racism Charter Strategies for enhancing Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

2020 is a year that will not be forgotten for generations to come. The worldwide COVID19 coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc upon the health and economic well-being of people, communities and countries large and small, developed and lesser developed, in ways that will be felt for years to come. It also highlighted the structural inequalities that exist between and within counties, as poorer more marginalised communities have been disproportionally affected by the impact of the virus1.

At the same time, the spectre of racism and racial injustice was horrifically displayed on TV screens throughout the world in late May 2020, as viewers watched the callous killing of African American George Floyd, over a period of 8.46 minutes at the knee of a white Minnesota policeman. His cruelty and the lack of action from those around clearly demonstrated the racism that still pervades our world. Centuries after the historic trafficking of humans from Africa, their enslavement and the development of eugenics and racial stratification according to skin colour we still see this mechanism for discrimination and inequality in our world.

Being anti-racist is not the same as simply not being racist. It is not enough as a diocese to not be racist but to actively counter, disrupt and oppose racial injustice. This isn’t an easy task, it takes introspection as well as continued intentional action and is not a static description of ourselves. Despite our Christian injunction to believe and behave as if we are all one in Christ, the deep inequalities that exist between and within groups of people of different colours, cultures and ethnicities persists, and persists within churches also2. As Ibram X Kendi writes “One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an antiracist. There is no in-between safe space of “not racist.” The claim of “not racist” neutrality is a mask for racism”.3

1 In the UK, people form minority ethnic communities have proportionally higher death and infection rates, in part due to their socio-economic and health status, they are more likely to have underlying health conditions or work in key worker or front line roles or live in intergenerational houses thus being more exposed to the virus. https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/articles/whyhavebla ckandsouthasianpeoplebeenhithardestbycovid19/2020-12-14 2 In 2006 the General Synod of the Church of England issued an apology, acknowledging the part the Church itself played, through the actions of individuals and agencies, in perpetuating and profiting from historic slavery and the exploitation of and discrimination against people based on the colour of their skin. The General Synod voted in February 2020 to apologise for racism experienced by United Kingdom Minority Ethnic (UKME ) people in the Church of England since the arrival of the Windrush Generation. Speaking to the General Synod, the , , said there was ‘no doubt’ that the Church of England was still ‘deeply institutionally racist’. The national church has established an Anti- Racism Taskforce , and in 2021 will set up an Archbishop’s Commission on Racial Equality. The Commission will address the justified anger surrounding the continuation of structures of racism and racial injustice within church institutions 3 Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist Penguin Random House, 2019 Being anti-racist is not the same as simply not being racist. It is not enough as a diocese to not be racist but to actively counter, disrupt and oppose racial injustice. This isn’t an easy task, it takes introspection as well as continued intentional action and is not a static description of ourselves. We are not anti-racist because we have a charter, we are anti-racist when we act against racism in individual situations.

Page 1 of 7 Black Lives and Black Voices Matter George Floyd’s death escalated the Black Lives Matter4 (BLM) protests of the USA into a worldwide movement demanding racial justice now. This also catalysed individual and societal institutions in the UK, government, civil society and the wider church intensify the long overdue work to bring about racial justice5 and reconciliation. Any tolerance of inequality on grounds of race devalues God's creation, and churches undertook once again to confront the sinful reality of persistent and pernicious racism in their structures. There is much to repent of and still much work to do.

As a diocese, Southwark is very aware of the way in which the concerns of Black Lives Matter touches every aspect of church life, our leadership and governance and our buildings and their history. We believe that the local parish and national church institutions should play a leading role in changing our structures to ensure they value and represent people of all ethnicities and backgrounds. In the diocese we have been trying to make changes to our structures and processes for the past 20 years. After the publication of the 2000 report on institutional racism in the structures of the Diocese of Southwark, we committed ourselves to implementing the report findings and work to address racism and justice6. We have done so through education and training, and through our diocesan management oversight structures such as the Diocesan Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns Committee (DMEACC) and the local action focus of the Episcopal Area Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (MEAC) committees.

This work continues but there must be renewed urgency to our actions amid rising concern about insufficient progress towards racial justice, equality and inclusion in our organisation. It is time to embed this work strategically into our governance structures for the diocese and the parishes and also in our liturgy, our preaching and teaching, our prayers and our everyday actions as we live out God’s love in the world. This will of course include working in partnership with the Southwark Diocesan Board of Education (SDBE) and our schools, acknowledging their longstanding equality policies which emphasize recognising and respecting difference and celebrating diversity.

4 Black Lives Matter is a movement that began as a groundswell community action to protest the killing of African American teenager Trayvon Martin and the acquittal of George Zimmerman of his murder in 2013. The movement began with the use of the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter on social media. It is now a worldwide decentralized political and social movement advocating protest against incidents of police brutality and all racially motivated violence against black people.

5 Race/racism is inextricably linked to the use and abuse of power and privilege of one group of people over another, often those visibly different, and sadly, in the twenty first century racism and racial injustice continues to cause incalculable harm to people and societies all across the world. Systemic/institutionalized racism and racialized inequalities remain inherent in many societal institutions and negatively impact on minority ethnic communities as they relate to those institutions — including education, housing, the criminal legal system, health institutions, schools and sadly also in the church. Racial justice programmes strive to create a world where all are treated equally, irrespective of their colour, culture or ethnicity and systems of racism are dismantled, resulting in equitable opportunities and outcomes for all.

6 https://southwark.anglican.org/downloads/resources/inquiry.pdf

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We recommit ourselves to this transforming work to become a truly anti-racist organisation. We intend to do this by embedding the three key principles of this Anti- Racism Charter7 (ARC) in our diocesan strategic response to issues of racism, racial inequality and racial injustice and indifference.

Southwark ARC: Key Principles:

 An explicit theological understanding that God’s kingdom is multi-ethnic, and that it is through our baptismal covenant we recognise and respect the dignity of every human being and our unity in Christ.  An intentional focus in our theological studies, liturgy, teaching, prayer, word and work to take strategic and practical actions to combat racism and racial inequality8  A clear strategy for increasing and sustaining diversity in our governance structures at diocesan and parish level, so as to ensure representation and participation of people from diverse ethnic backgrounds at all levels of our organisation.

Southwark Vision and ARC Commitments Our diocesan vision, based on the five marks of mission9, is rooted not only in proclaiming and teaching God’s love and justice but also in seeking to transform unjust structures in the church and in the world. The Diocese is committed to challenging racism in our church and the wider society, recognises the need to create a more diverse church and is fully committed:

 To learn more about the way past and present church collusion in institutional racism and ethno-cultural differentiation continues to impact on United Kingdom Minority Ethnic (UKME - we no longer use the BAME acronym10) community members participation in the

7 The charter must not simply be a plan of action but should be covenantal in its nature. 8 This is not simply about individual clergy formation but also our corporate formation in being intrinsically grounded in this explicit theological understanding and informed by diverse voices and experience. 9 https://www.anglicancommunion.org/mission/marks-of-mission.aspx 10 We mark here a shift away from the acronym BAME to UKME, which is more inclusive of colleagues who did not see themselves as falling within a Black or Asian categorization. This includes our community members from Korea, China, Hong Kong and Singapore, and Latin America among others. This term (unlike BAME) has come into usage as it recognises that people coming from a global majority ethnic heritages and living in the United Kingdom are only minority ethnic in that context. The term “People of the global majority” acknowledges that black, indigenous, and people of colour represent over 80% of the world’s population and points to the demographic inaccuracy of the "minority” terminology. The 2020 #BAMEOver survey looked into the terms that are most often used to refer to black or brown people from Africa, the Caribbean and the Indian sub-continent and found that ’BAME’ is not only no longer unreservedly accepted but in many academic papers it is being vigorously contested as it assumes and confers a shared homogenous identity and history for people coming from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds and history. It is important to also note that this discussion on ethnicity, colour, culture and nomenclature is evolving. It is also important to consider the impact of intersectionality on equal opportunity. Intersectionality means recognising that people’s identities are shaped by multiple factors (the many personal characteristics that make up an individual). Protected characteristics cannot be treated as discrete identities, as they can quite often overlap when discrimination occurs. An awareness of intersectionality creates a much better understanding of the differences among individuals.

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church. This will include relevant work on the history and contributions of diverse people to our church as well as the history of our buildings and memorials.  To create safe and trusting spaces to have honest and open conversations about race and racism, racial inequality, power and privilege, and actively listen to the voices of those impacted and affected by the issues, from UKME and white communities  To provide training and mentoring and opportunities for leadership development for people from diverse heritages.  To work to close any gaps that exist between UKME and white experiences of engagement with the diocese  To engage our parishes and equip them to constructively engage with the Charter and the practical change it hopes to bring about.  To collaborate with our training institutions and schools on issues of diversity and inclusion This focus on anti-racism and concomitant strategies for enhancing Ethnic Diversity and Inclusion fit within our Diocesan Vision of ensuring the fruitful future of a church for all which reflects our diverse community in membership and leadership as we seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation11. We need to put our own house in order before we can work alongside others civil society and government institutions to make the necessary changes in our society. We acknowledge that whatever is done must have real outcomes with positive and intentional action to redress inequities.

ARC: Action Plan for leadership development Our diocesan commitment ranges from working to embed greater participation in governance structures as well as lay and ordained posts, improved learning and education. The Action Plan for Leadership Development links the three key diocesan ARC principles to a twelve point programme that will allow us to listen to the different voices of UKME people from global majority heritages, to build up capacity through targeted training and development, to strengthen leadership skills and experience and to increase vocations and appointments in pipeline and senior roles and to encourage and support our parishes and their leadership teams to engage with issues of racial justice12. This plan is clearly only the first stage of a programme of action. Each bullet point will have its own detailed action plan and process for engagement, implementation and progress, which can be monitored, reviewed and evaluated to demonstrate progress.

11 The fourth mark of mission of the Anglican Communion. 12 Some may feel that this issue does not affect them, but there is nowhere in this diocese, or even this country, where issues of diversity and inclusion are not raised. For example, on 4 Feb 2021, a church in Rottingdean Sussex was forced by the Diocesan Chancellor to remove grave headstones because of the derogatory and racist language inscribed on them, and have them re-inscribed!

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Every department in the Diocese will be included and will be expected to embed and enable this work in their own departmental programmes13. The diocesan ‘Turning up the Volume’ action plan includes:

 Bishop’s Staff Meeting intentionality and accountability for increasing UKME vocations and expanding the numbers of UKME post holders recruited, overseen by a senior lead on diversity and inclusion on the Bishops Staff team  Revised recruitment, discernment and selection processes for lay/ordained posts including training on issues of race equality and unconscious bias  Increasing the number of UKME post holders recruited, lay and ordained, and offering support for the progression of UKME clergy in pipeline leadership roles  Providing mentoring for leadership for lay/ordained UKME clergy, lay ministers and lay leaders (including support and mediation if relevant) and safe spaces for discussion along with networking opportunities  Increasing diversity in representative participation on synodical and diocesan and parochial governance structures, particularly encouraging younger UKME emerging leaders  Increased participation of UKME advisors in the vocational discernment team and support for those taking part in the process.  Unconscious Bias and racial awareness training at all levels of diocesan institutions, including deaneries and parishes, together with other training courses that look at theology, power, privilege, prejudice, and intercultural competence and intersectionality  Embedding the work of the Area MEACCs within the area diocesan structures  Offering practical support for parishes to enable them to engage with the ARC and the diocesan action plan in their parochial and congregational context. This will include liturgical resources and educational materials on racial equality that promote the ongoing aspects of relationship building, repentance, reconciliation and healing  Promoting, celebrating and marking Black History Month and Racial Justice Sunday at every level of church life, providing liturgical support, celebrating the contributions and achievements of local UKME members and partnering with other institutions and organisations to deliver events that focus on racial justice  Robust data collection and effective monitoring of race, ethnicity and diversity data  Benchmarking and monitoring diocesan actions against national strategies and indices of race equity and equality and providing an annual report

ARC: Historic monuments and plaques

In Britain, the BLM protests instigated a national conversation on Black British history and the nature and effect of the country’s historic slave trading past on contemporary racialized

13 The ARC plan for each area of diocesan life must include programming, engagement, action, change, evaluation, review and if necessary revision, and must reach to parish level as well as to diocesan strategies id it is to be effective.

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attitudes and systemic racism. The removal of Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol has prompted consideration of the removal of other statues, monuments and other memorabilia linked to the slave trading past in public places in the UK, including in some historic churches14.

Monuments and plaques are physical historic symbols commemorating and/or celebrating past events and the people who were engaged in those events, and may be appreciated or valued for the associations and meaning linked to them. The diocese recognises that there will be a number of churches in the diocese with historical links to the slave-trade. There are serious arguments put forward for either the retention or removal of contentious monuments and plaques in sacred spaces. However, we are not encouraging churches to simply remove such memorials, but to engage in research and reflection and find ways to tell the history of the building and the memorial through a re/discovery of the past15. This is not about either revising history or being blind to the implications of the past. Rather it is about encountering history with gospel eyes.

The diocese will work through the archdeacons and the Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC) and national church guidance to provide relevant advice on issues that may arise regarding retention, relocation or removal.

Conclusion Racism is an affront to God. It is a sin, born out of the denial that all human beings were created equal in God’s image and that all are one in Christ. Racism, racial injustice and racialized exploitation, through structures such as historic or modern-day slavery, have no place in society or church institutions. Acknowledgement of the anti-slavery campaigns of Wilberforce, Clarkson and Equiano, does not obviate the fact that for hundreds of years, racialized theology and biblical interpretation were used to justify Church collusion with the enslavement and racial denigration of people of African heritage. Racialized attitudes of white Christian superiority also undergirded the post-slavery movement of Asians from the Indian sub-continent to Africa and the Caribbean through indentured servitude in the Nineteenth Century. The transforming Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost and enabled the disciples to bridge and transcend ethnic and cultural differences. The gift of Pentecost was the ability to communicate across barriers and boundaries, to recognise that the Spirit enables unity and flourishing in all our God given diversity and that all Christians are charged with a mission to build an incarnational and intercultural kingdom of God inclusive of:

14 https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/statements/slavery-heritage-research-audit/ 15 This advice is similar to that of the Director of Churches and Cathedrals at The Church of England, who also acknowledges that “it is not possible to provide a single position which could apply to all circumstances and which would satisfy all legitimate viewpoints”, and “dialogue alone is not sufficient, and must have real outcomes. These may include the alteration or removal of monuments. However, this must be done safely and legally, and we do not condone illegal acts”.

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“a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb”. Revelation 7.9

The church needs to ensure that the Christian understanding that we are all the body of Christ is central to our work on social justice, and the way we live out the gospel of mercy, equity and righteousness. This diocese is fully committed being a diverse community, where all are welcome, whatever their background or ethnicity. Much work remains for us to overcome racism in our context and in the culture of racial inequality that has long been accepted by too many in the church.

A prayer for Racial Justice Sunday 2021 God of justice, who rejoices in your creation and the beauty of our diversity, give us a passion to live well, with respect for all, with delight in difference, with commitment to inclusion, and with hope for our future in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

written by The Very Revd , A Pray of Repentance Accept our repentance, Lord … for the wrongs we have done, for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty, All Accept our repentance, Lord. For all false judgements, for uncharitable thoughts towards our neighbours and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us. All Accept our repentance, Lord. Liturgy of Ash Wednesday, Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of England

Resources: Resources, Readings Lists and Practical Actions will be in an appendix

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